Bottom-Line Mediation ®

Bottom-Line Mediation is ideally suited for high exposure cases that pose an extreme high-risk for all concerned and where there are highly experienced "Pros" on both sides. And, it is particularly ideal when trial (or some other pivotal case event) is imminent and other settlement processes have proven unsuccessful.

I have learned Bottom-Line Mediation may not be appropriate for the following:

(a) cases where any party needs to vent, be heard or communicate directly with another party;

(b) cases where relationships need mending;

(d) cases where there are too many "moving parts".

To date, I have done Bottom-Line Mediations on cases venued in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Nevada, Oklahoma and Wisconsin -- working with lawyers and claims people in those states and with lawyers and claims people in Arizona, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Washington state and Washington D.C.

The following are examples of a handful of successfully concluded Bottom-Line Mediations:

1. A Bad Faith insurance case where Plaintiff's last demand was $28 million and Defendant's last offer was $200,000 and trial was set to begin in less than 1 week;

2. A Bad Faith case (involving hundreds of opt-outs from a large Class Action) where Plaintiffs' last demand was $60 million and Defendant's last (and only) offer was $5 million -- and the court was about to rule on a critical summary judgement motion;

3. A post-verdict quadriplegic case where Plaintiff's last demand was 'north of $20 million...', Defendant's last offer was $10 million -- and oral argument on the appeal was imminent;

4. A case involving brain damage to a 2 year old girl where Plaintiff wasn't willing to negotiate unless the defense collectively put "a minimum of $15 million on the table" and where the defense had initially offered $4 million at the earlier traditional mediation;

5. An 8 death case arising from an accident involving an 18 wheel truck on a turnpike where Plaintiffs' last demand was $108 million and Defendant's last offer was $21 million -- and trial was set to begin in 3 days;

6. Wrongful death of a 19 year old woman, with Plaintiffs' last demand being $20 million and Defendant's last offer being $2.1 million -- with trial set to begin in 5 days -- and Plaintiffs saying that they were not going to come down to $19 million "unless the defense came up to 8 figures".

I have a very concise 1 page document setting forth exactly how the process works, how the fee is determined and other pertinent information about how to get started on a Bottom-Line Mediation. If you would like a copy of that document and/or if you would like the names of any attorneys or insurance carriers who have participated in a Bottom-Line Mediation, please send an email directly to me at rjk@kaplanmediation.com